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CLEVELAND – Ohio field hockey fifth year forward Katelyn Whittle was named the Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Year, while head coach Ali Johnstone was named the MAC Co-Coach of the Year, the league announced this morning (Nov. 2). Whittle and freshman midfielder Pauline Hartlieb were named First Team All-MAC, while sophomores forward Sasha Dikotla and back Anouk Plaehn earned a spot on the All-MAC Second Team. Hartlieb and fellow freshman forward Johanna Hildebrandt were named to the All-Freshman Team. 
 
Johnstone is the first Bobcat to be named Coach of the Year since Neil Macmillan in 2011. Johnstone led the Bobcats back to the postseason this year, taking advantage of their challenging schedule, which was highlighted by an overtime victory against Indiana on Sept. 10. In MAC play, Johnstone led Ohio to a 4-3 mark, improving on last year's record. Ohio also recorded two shutouts in MAC play and defeated Kent State for the first time since 2013. 
 
Whittle (Glenwood, Md.) is the first MAC Offensive Player of the Year for the Bobcats since Kendall Ballard in 2019 and it is the first time Whittle has been named to the All-MAC First Team. 
 
Whittle led the Ohio offense this season with a career year. Overall, Whittle played and started all 15 matches with a career-high 18 goals and nine assists for a career-high 45 points. She recorded 55 shots with 44 on goal for .800 shots on goal percentage. She also recorded two game-winning goals, while playing 842 minutes.
 
In MAC play, Whittle played and started all seven matches, recording 10 goals and six assists for 26 points. She also has 31 shots with 27 shots on goal for .871 shots on goal percentage in MAC play. This season, Whittle had five multi-goal games, four multi-assist games and 12 multi-point games this season. Her biggest game of the season came on Oct. 20 against Bellarmine, where she scored five goals and had two assists for 12 points in the 8-2 victory. Whittle was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Week twice this season. 
 
Currently, Whittle leads the MAC in goals, goals per game (1.2), assists and points and is second in shots and shots on goals. Nationally, Whittle is currently fourth in goals per game and third points per game.
 
Hartlieb (Leverkusen, Germany) earned a spot on the All-MAC First Team and All-Freshman Team after her first season in the Green and White.
 
Hartlieb played and started all 15 games for the Bobcats this season, while playing a total of 729 minutes. Hartlieb is second on the team in goals scored with six, while also recording three assists for 15 points, which is also second on the Bobcats. Overall, Hartlieb registered 19 shots with 12 on goal for .632 shots on goal percentage and she has one game-winning goal. In MAC play, Hartlieb has played and started all seven games, while scoring four goals and one assist for nine points. Her .700 shots on goal percentage in MAC play is second on the team. Hartlieb scored her first career goal at Maine on Sept. 3. She then recorded her first career-multi goal game on Oct. 13 at Central Michigan.   
 
Plaehn (Hanover, Germany) earned a spot on the All-MAC Second Team after being named to the All-Freshman Team last season. Plaehn led Ohio defensively this past season, playing and starting all 15 games. In total, she played 893 minutes, only subbing out in two games. She's helped the Bobcats to two shutouts in MAC play and has one defensive save. She's also recorded seven assists, including two against Bellarmine on Oct. 20. Her defensive play kept the Bobcats in games all season, helping Ohio defeat BIG Ten opponent Indiana in overtime, and helping lead a come-from-behind victory against Kent State on the road on Sept. 22. 
 
This is the first time Dikotla (Johannesburg, South Africa) has earned a spot on an All-MAC team with her spot on the Second Team. Dikotla played and started all 15 games for the Bobcats and scored three goals and added four assists for 10 points. She recorded 16 shots with eight on goal for a .500 shots on goal percentage. She also recorded one game-winning goal. In MAC play, Dikotla scored two goals and three assists for seven points. Her game-winning goal came at Kent State on Sept. 22 where she scored in the final seconds to give Ohio the 3-2 come-from-behind win.
 
Hildebrant (Berlin, Germany) earned a spot on the All-Freshman team. Hildebrant played in 13 matches for the Bobcats this season, scoring one goal and adding six assists for the Bobcats off the bench for a total of eight points. She recorded three shots, with one on goal and had one game-winning goal. All her goals and her assists came in MAC play where she played in six matches for Ohio. Her one goal and three of her assists came on Sept. 29 against Longwood.
 
The Bobcats are back in action on Friday, Nov. 3 when they begin the 2023 MAC Tournament, where Ohio is the fourth seed and will take on No. 1 Miami. First touch is set for 11:30 a.m. in Oxford, Ohio. 
 
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